STA, 25 July 2019 - Slovenian members of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee have welcomed the EU Commission decision to continue infringement proceedings over Austrian child benefits as a sign that discrimination will not be allowed.
"This is welcome news for our commuters. I expect Austria to heed to the concerns by the EU Commission and act accordingly. We cannot let children who are citizens of the EU be treated as first- and second-rate citizens," Romana Tomc (SDS/EPP) said.
Milan Brglez (SD/S&D) likewise said the EU may not allow discrimination. "This would be contrary to its essence and its achievements, and it applies in particular to the most vulnerable groups such as children," he wrote in a press release on Thursday.
Their comments came after the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Austria, the next step in infringement proceedings, due to the incompatibility of its law on the indexation of family benefits and family tax credits with EU rules.
Austria wanted to index child benefits for children who reside in other EU countries while their parents work in Austria to the cost of living in their countries of residence, which would severely affect mostly children from Central and Eastern European countries, Slovenia included.
